Accosted at Costco today

This is a discussion on Accosted at Costco today within the Carry & Defensive Scenarios forums, part of the Defensive Carry Discussions category; Betty, I am glad to hear that you and your husband were not harmed, and I for one think that you handled the situation appropriately. ...

Betty, I am glad to hear that you and your husband were not harmed, and I for one think that you handled the situation appropriately. He certainly was in MORTAL danger had he escalated the situation by producing a weapon of his own or had he physically attacked you or your husband. Unfortunately not all of the mentally ill are in hospitals, or are they receiving the proper medication. I think this a lesson to us all. Give firm, clear, and loud commands telling an individual to stop and back off. That clearly establishes him as the aggressor in the eyes of witnesses, and also to keep that person under observation as you move away to a safe distance. I don't see how anyone could have handled that any better than you did that time. That guy was lucky, and he probably will never know just how lucky he really was that day!

I'm sorry, I don't live in TN, but I would not care for somebody pushing my stuff out of the way.
I also don't like it when somebody has 11 items in the 10 items or less lane. The sign seems pretty self-explanatory to me.

That said, if you are behind me, and I choose to have a 10 minute conversation with the checkout person, you are welcome to join in, keep your mouth shut, or go to a different store...That's just how we do things, here.

And don't be surprised if the checkout person in Walmart asks about my nieces report card...cuz she probably will, and I'll have plenty of stuff to tell her...

I'm sorry, I don't live in TN, but I would not care for somebody pushing my stuff out of the way.
I also don't like it when somebody has 11 items in the 10 items or less lane. The sign seems pretty self-explanatory to me.

That said, if you are behind me, and I choose to have a 10 minute conversation with the checkout person, you are welcome to join in, keep your mouth shut, or go to a different store...That's just how we do things, here.

And don't be surprised if the checkout person in Walmart asks about my nieces report card...cuz she probably will, and I'll have plenty of stuff to tell her...

God, I love Texas.

Since you opened this can..........What if you were behind me and the check out lady and I had a 20 minute, no lets make it 30 minute discussion. Where do you draw the line between doing your business and being completely inconsiderate of other people, because I think you will differ with most of the reasonable people here.

"Not only do the people who put their lives on the line to protect the rest of us deserve better, we all deserve better than to have our own security undermined by those who undermine law enforcement." -Thomas Sowell

Kerb, please say yer jokin'. A person that would have a 10 minute conversation with the check out person is not only a selfish jerk but also needs to find a friend. thats the same kinda person that sits through green lights talking on their cell phone. The needless conversation at the checkout wouldnt last 2 minutes in front of me, sorry but thats how I see it.

I'm sorry, I don't live in TN, but I would not care for somebody pushing my stuff out of the way.
I also don't like it when somebody has 11 items in the 10 items or less lane. The sign seems pretty self-explanatory to me.

That said, if you are behind me, and I choose to have a 10 minute conversation with the checkout person, you are welcome to join in, keep your mouth shut, or go to a different store...That's just how we do things, here.

And don't be surprised if the checkout person in Walmart asks about my nieces report card...cuz she probably will, and I'll have plenty of stuff to tell her...

God, I love Texas.

I don't live near TN or TX, but I do know many of the clerks, store manager, customer service folks at Costcos.

I do seek out certain cashiers who I am friendly with and the personal conversation may last 1-2 minutes max, but they are real people that I have known for many years (a few for as many as 10 years) thru the store.

It's not to be inconsiderate to anyone, it's just the way I am. [In WM I don't chat with anyone except one clerk in the Sporting Goods Department or the SG Manager (we're both members of the same gun club).]

As for moving other people's goods at Costco's . . . some folks take up the entire conveyor belt leaving 6-12" of "air" in between each item and don't bother to get one of the barriers to place behind their order so the next person can unload their cart. Some just stand there expecting someone else to unload their cart onto the conveyor belt and some ignore the signs that say "carts this way, people that way" and try to jam the cart into the too-narrow aisle meant for people.

Although I haven't done it, I can see someone "tightening up" the empty conveyor belt space to put their stuff on it.

From my reading of Betty's post, the guy walked off in a huff, leaving the cashier to twiddle his/her thumbs and the now "contaminated" box sitting there. The cashier was right in moving it aside and taking the next customer instead of waiting for the jerk to return sometime later (remember these are big stores, it could take the guy 5 minutes to find an "uncontaminated" box and return).

There is always a front-end supervisor in the area and he/she should have interceded as soon as this jerk became boisterous. It should never have escalated to where it did according to Betty's story.

BTW: The "no guns" sign seems to be a local store manager issue. I've heard of it, but I shop at 4 different Costcos in 2 states and have never seen such a sign. Only seen one of those signs and it was at the local Wal-Mart many years ago . . . I had to talk one of our detectives out of going there and making a scene over it. But numerous calls to WM HQ resulted in the sign being taken down real quickly (again it was a local management problem that got corrected).

I'm sorry, I don't live in TN, but I would not care for somebody pushing my stuff out of the way.
I also don't like it when somebody has 11 items in the 10 items or less lane. The sign seems pretty self-explanatory to me.

We're not talking the law of the land here. If you get in the 10 item lane because you have 10 items and then at the last second toss a pack of gum on the conveyor, you think you should stop, reload your 11 items into a cart and relocate to another line? <shrug>

The bigger, stranger issue to me is the person who cares enough to A) count my items, presumably out of concern that there might be 11, or <gasp> even 12 items! And B) start a confrontation over a pack of gum. I can honestly say I've never stood in a line and counted another persons items.

That said, if you are behind me, and I choose to have a 10 minute conversation with the checkout person, you are welcome to join in, keep your mouth shut, or go to a different store...That's just how we do things, here.

I don't know... I figured the signs that say "Express Lane" were pretty self-explanatory.

The facts are indisputable. There is more data supporting the benefits of Conceal Carry than there is supporting global warming. If you choose ignorance, in light of all the evidence, in order to bolster your irrational fear of guns, you are a greater threat to society than any gun owner.

We're not talking the law of the land here. If you get in the 10 item lane because you have 10 items and then at the last second toss a pack of gum on the conveyor, you think you should stop, reload your 11 items into a cart and relocate to another line? <shrug>

The bigger, stranger issue to me is the person who cares enough to A) count my items, presumably out of concern that there might be 11, or <gasp> even 12 items! And B) start a confrontation over a pack of gum. I can honestly say I've never stood in a line and counted another persons items.

I don't know... I figured the signs that say "Express Lane" were pretty self-explanatory.

+1 I'd care more about the 10 minute conversation than an extry 1 or 2 items in the express lane. And belive me, I've heard enough inappropriate conversations between cashiers and bagpersons to last a lifetime.
Also, did you ever notice that if you go to the shortest checkout line it always takes longer? Just my own independent observation.

I'm sorry, I don't live in TN, but I would not care for somebody pushing my stuff out of the way.
I also don't like it when somebody has 11 items in the 10 items or less lane. The sign seems pretty self-explanatory to me.

That said, if you are behind me, and I choose to have a 10 minute conversation with the checkout person, you are welcome to join in, keep your mouth shut, or go to a different store...That's just how we do things, here.

And don't be surprised if the checkout person in Walmart asks about my nieces report card...cuz she probably will, and I'll have plenty of stuff to tell her...

God, I love Texas.

Aren't you posting from Dallas? My experience there is that you can easily get runover for wasting time.

Aren't you posting from Dallas? My experience there is that you can easily get run over for wasting time.

Yeah, and you do...I was reminiscing about growing up in Pollok, TX...we had 2 convenience stores, a feed store and a bank.
10 minute conversations didn't bother anybody because all 2-3 customers were involved.

Things are definitely different now days, and especially in Dallas. I am still not sure if the convenience store guy that I see daily even speaks English.

And, for those that were wondering...I don't count other people's items, but I have made my wife put back something that would put US over 10...and I always use the separator thingy.

Kinda veering off topic here, but as long as the cashier is speedy and the customer doesn't take an eon to pay, I don't care if they're a little over in the express lane. The express lane is about speed. If they move, then who gives a rat's patootie?

The OP's husband is lucky to have a wife who could place herself in a position to back up her husband should this guy have gone goofy. Well...goofier. Both demonstrated FAR more patience than I would likely have done.